Part of Me
by Yuki-kon
Summary: Malachi was never good at communicating his thoughts and feelings to other people. But some questions simply demand an answer. Moebius: Empire Rising. One-Shot.


Author's Note: By the time I wrote this I hadn't played the full game yet, so please keep in mind that the story's only related to chapter 1 and 2, canon-wise. Also, to be honest, I couldn't really decide _how_ to write (about) the relationship between Malachi Rector and David Walker, so I tried to write in a way that their relationship can be interpreted as either a strong bonding _bromance_ or even as a _romance_ , based on Jane Jensen's own view on the plot and characters. So, there's also an 'alternate ending' at the end of the story (and a possible sequel in my mind).

 **Part of Me**

Malachi was standing in front of the door to David's hotel room, fumbling with the sleeve of his shirt, nervously.  
His usually rational mind was spinning. He had tried to find a logical explanation for the thoughts he had, thoughts revolving around the other man. But somehow this time his thinking and his actions seemed to be influenced by something out of his control, something entirely different than his mind alone.  
It was as if he was drawn to Walker, no matter what happened or how he felt about it – although he certainly felt... attracted, in the general sense of the word.  
Malachi was short of bashing his head against the wooden door. And he probably would have if this would have helped even just a little to clear his mind.  
He sighed.  
This was getting him nowhere. He had been determined to get this off his chest tonight and he was going to.  
With resolve summoned from his gut rather than his brain, he finally knocked, and waited, quite anxiously. This – whatever it was that he sensed between them – he needed to know if he was the only one recognizing it. He would feel even more of a fool if it turned out he was, but he simply had to make sure, his curiosity demanded it.  
Before he could get wrapped up in his own chaotic state of mind again however, the door opened before him and Walker's frame appeared in its stead.  
"It's you." The blond man didn't actually look surprised. And judging by his bright eyes and the short time it had taken him to answer the door he hadn't already been sleeping either. That was good. It meant he definitely wouldn't chalk up the following conversation as a weird dream – or worse: nightmare.  
Rector took a deep breath before he managed to make direct eye contact with his bodyguard.  
"Can I come in?"  
Rector felt insecure about this whole inquiry already, though somehow the smile that appeared on the blond's face encouraged him.  
"Sure", he replied and for one second Rector thought that it might not become as bad an experience as he'd feared.  
Walker stepped aside to let the antiques dealer in, then he closed the door behind him.  
"Drink?", he asked shortly and was already about to fetch some glasses when Rector stopped him with a wave of his hand – although the brunet surely felt like he could use a scotch or brandy. But he wanted to get to the point as soon as possible. It wasn't like him to get involved with another person in a friendly way, much less as deeply as he had let Walker see through his usually immovable mask. These feelings of unease irritated him. Something was wrong with him and with this whole situation where he was stuck with Walker, and he knew that he needed the other man to figure it out.

Meanwhile the ex special forces soldier had been trying to offer Rector a seat, but even that convenience the antiquer denied himself.  
Walker was still standing, too, deeming it impolite to sit down himself when his guest wouldn't.  
And he had a feeling, Rector didn't want to get too comfortable: In fact, he looked like he didn't want to be here in Walker's room at all.  
The blond raised a questioning eyebrow at that – at his own line of thought as much as at the other man's odd behavior.  
Rector took that as his cue to cut to the chase and to start explaining why he actually had come to him at so late an hour.  
"I've been meaning to talk to you about something", the brunet started out. Despite his constant debating over the topic in his mind, he hadn't found out how to put this, exactly. Another fact that had caught him off-guard. He didn't want the other man to think that he was weird. But how did people usually talk about something like this? Had something quite like this ever happened to other people before? Not that he knew of, that much was for sure.  
Apparently Walker recognized his hesitation or could even feel his nerves. The smile never left his features and he leaned back against the wardrobe he was standing close to, expectant but not too demanding so.  
Rector was glad for these small gestures. It was actually what had made him feel at ease when the other man was around right from the very beginning. He seemed to understand Rector, even without being told everything. At that point Malachi wondered for a brief moment how it was that he hadn't confided in him sooner, a thought which surprised him, since he had felt quite insecure merely a second ago. All of his thoughts on the matter and on the other man were a constant up and down, a sharp intake of breath followed by a slow exhale; unnerving yet relaxing.  
"Have you ever wondered... about our first meeting? The circumstances under which we met."  
This time Walker looked genuinely surprised. He obviously hadn't expected a question like this. Maybe because it was unlike Rector to be so blunt.  
But the mild shock soon vanished from his face, his gaze sincere and thoughtful.  
"I have, actually."  
It was Rector's turn to be surprised now. He hadn't seen that coming. Before Rector had to continue with his explanation, Walker had already said out aloud what he himself had been weighing in his head for a while.  
"Strange coincidence that we met two times in a row. And you even saved my life back then..."  
"...and you saved mine", Rector chimed in. "Twice already, in a way."  
At that Walker quietly chuckled. "I guess you could say that, yeah."  
Malachi smiled, too. It was so easy chatting with his bodyguard like this. But there was still this one question that gnawed at his soul and the lightness of the moment was washed away by the urge to ask it.  
"I always wondered, though... was it really just coincidence or was it..."  
"...fate", Walker continued for him. And the way he had spoken the word – like this was exactly the answer Rector had been looking for all the time – made the antiquer look at him in pure astonishment.  
Walker meant it, it was written all over his face. And Rector himself had asked himself many times before and had reached the very same conclusion.  
"You... think so?"  
The blond moved away from the wardrobe he was standing at and took a step towards Malachi, hands hooked into the pockets of his jeans.  
"What do you think?"  
Rector instantly recognized the counter question, of course, but interestingly enough he didn't mind in this case.  
"To be honest, I have no idea. But..."  
Rector actually couldn't look his associate into the eyes, at that point. This was all too much like one of those cheap Hollywood movies he loathed.  
"It's strange and you probably find it weird, but... I've always felt... some kind of... connection between us... it's hard to explain, but... even though I had just met you, from the very beginning it felt as if I'd knew you... I wanted to know why, so I held you back when we were about to part ways... and since then the feeling only intensified..."  
Rector dared to glance up at Walker's face which betrayed nothing, so he said it outright.  
"Somehow I have the strangest sensation that I've known you for all my life..."

The reaction wasn't instantaneous, but still faster and a lot different from what Rector would have expected. Walker did look a bit shocked, indeed, but Rector got the impression it was more because of the antiques dealer's boldness and honesty than from what he had just implied by telling him all of this.  
Then the ex military man looked at him, simply stared at him very intensely for what seemed like forever but in truth were just a few seconds. Still, when he did, Rector felt that very same thing he had already experienced the day they had met, and many times since then; every day they had been together, in fact. It was so surreal and yet it seemed so natural all the same: Rector trusted this man, he didn't know why. But he trusted him with his life. So when Walker took his hand he didn't shake him off, like he usually would have done. And he didn't turn away from the deep blue eyes that seemed to lay bare all of his hidden thoughts and emotions. Their intensity made him feel vulnerable, but he didn't mind, because he knew no harm could ever come to him when it was Walker who watched him – and who watched over him.  
"You're not the only one." The blond finally spoke which shook Rector out of his own head, even though he was still transfixed by those eyes and by the warmth of Walker's hand around his, his calloused fingers feeling rough against the brunet's comparably slender and smoother hands.  
"I feel the same way." His voice was so earnest that it took Rector's breath away even more so than the simple confession.  
"Back then... I didn't want to leave, but I had the feeling that you were gonna hold me back, somehow I just knew it. And then..." Walker's gaze wavered for a second with uncertainty and Rector grasped his hand reassuringly. He had bared his own thoughts and emotions, now he was trying to encourage Walker to speak his mind, subtle as not to startle him. He was rewarded by a glimpse of Walker's usual smile, acknowledging his effort and he couldn't help but lighten up a bit in return. Maybe this whole affair wasn't so weird after all.  
"And then", Walker started over, "I got to know you better and I couldn't help thinking how compatible we are." He stopped again, this time furrowing his brows, doubtfully. "Or, is that just me now?"

Rector felt the warmth of Walker's hand seeping into his palm, down his arm and crawling up towards his chest. Even his face felt almost hot now. He wanted to answer his bodyguard, but right at that moment he couldn't utter a word. It was illogical, but he just couldn't will his mouth to open. So instead he just shook his head and hoped that Walker would understand this gesture alone.  
Rector's eyes were fixed on the other man's hand gripping his now and when Walker pulled it – and with it Rector – towards himself, the antiquer didn't resist. He stumbled forward a bit, immediately stabilized by Walker's other hand and arm on his back. His hand was now lying on Walker's chest, the man's own hand covering his. And he could feel an even greater heat emitting from Walker's body. And something else: a heart pounding.  
Cautiously, almost shyly he looked up to Walker's face again. And for only the second time this evening he noticed how the ex military man, too, was struggling to keep his composure. He had seemed unfazed before, but now Rector saw fear in his blue eyes that shimmered dark in the dim light of the hotel room.  
"Do you feel it?", he asked the brunet and his voice trembled just the slightest little bit.  
When Walker's other hand came to lay on his own chest with these words, Rector finally understood. He could feel his own heartbeat now, as well as Walker's, still under his palm. They were one.  
"My heart echoes yours." Walker put his same own thoughts into words. "Yours echoes mine."

Walker's eyes were like the deep blue ocean, mesmerizing, and yet Rector feared the water would pull him under. But he also couldn't shake the feeling of safety that emitted from the depths. It felt like he was the only person in the world down there and yet there was a presence, unseen but calming. And that undefined form materialized in the very solid presence of David Walker, here and now.

The next thing Rector knew was that the other man had pulled him into an actual embrace, his broad arms encircling the brunet's frame, momentarily making his head kind of dizzy from the heat of Walker's body and the general shock over the sudden act.

But as he carefully put his own arms around the ex soldier and rested his head on his shoulders he once more felt the contradiction between his mind and heart, scared and yet at ease in his one safe haven within the raging sea.

And if that was what Walker could and would willingly give him, despite logic and reason getting the better of him often and pushing most people away, then Rector would gladly accept the comforting, and caring – and any other 'ing' for that matter – because most of all he finally understood the meaning of one word: belonging.

 **Alternate Ending**

The next thing Rector knew was that the other man had pulled him into an actual embrace, his broad arms encircling the brunet's frame, momentarily making his head kind of dizzy from the heat of Walker's body and the general shock over the sudden act.

Rector glanced up into the other man's eyes and once he had fixed his gaze on the blue orbs he simply couldn't look away. He felt the pull even stronger than before. And something shifted in these eyes as well. Slowly the hand on his back slid up between his shoulder blades, its warmth seeping through to his chest. All the while his eyes never left David's. The blue got more intense as Malachi moved closer to the bottom. But before he sank to the ground he closed his eyes. A mere second later he felt warm lips meeting his own.

And as he carefully put his own arms around the ex soldier and leaned into the kiss it almost seemed to him as if he was floating out of his body, meeting the soul of the other man for the first time, connecting with it more than their bodies ever could. His mind was drifting far away for once. Only his heart stayed in the same place and he could sense a strange and yet familiar emotion settling down inside.

And if that was what David felt as well and what he wanted from him, he could and would easily give this to him. Because these sensations made him quite susceptible to receiving such attention and generous with returning it at the same time. And he realized right then that, if it was David, he would probably never tire of the hugging, and kissing – and any other 'ing' for that matter – because most of all he finally understood the meaning of one word: longing.


End file.
